The Eye
by Raen-Allassea
Summary: A short stand alone fanfiction with Qrow, Salem, and a wild mountain lion grimm. Rated T for a little bit of violence.


_I do not own RWBY, it belongs to Roosterteeth. I am merely an appreciative fan with unusual fan theories. Please go support Roosterteeth._ :)

The Eye

It should have been easy. An experienced hunter against a grimm, but with a semblance like this, nothing ever was.

Blood trickled into my eyes as I stared the mountain lion grimm down. Its eyes were glowing with the same intensity as coals in a fire. Using my good arm to pull myself up from the ground, pain shot through my body forcing a breath. My left arm, numb. Damn semblance, it could be good for fights but not when it worked against me.

It was toying with me, I could tell from the sly twitch of its tail, and the way it had just batted me around with the flick of a paw earlier. Its ears were half-cocked back, watching and waiting as it kept two red eyes keyed in on me. But even as I looked for a weak point, a small hope of success, its hind legs pressed downward, like a coiled spring waiting for the release of deadly energy.

I used the tree to steady myself, this fight was over. My only chance would be to fly off, but I had stupidly fought with the grimm instead of taking to the skies at the beginning.

The cat took cautious steps forward. It mewed, like a regular housecat did as it stalked a mouse or in this case, a bird.

The cat's white markings, like some hideous bone outgrowth, indicated it was older. As I was summoning the strength to make a transformation, some corner of my mind was still attempting to figure out why an older grimm would risk attacking a human. These older grimm survived by avoiding risk, so why attack a human so painfully close to a city?

Gritting my teeth, I was almost ready, my heartbeat pounding in my ears as I struggled to stay standing. The cat was inching closer, I'm sure to paw me around a bit before it killed me.

I've been in bad situations before but this was like staring down certain death, and I still had too much left to do. A sudden image came to mind, so strong I could almost smell the white and red rose petals floating down on the breeze in my delirious memories.

A sudden darkness descended over the mostly clear night, like oil spreading over the surface of water. The cat froze, eyes widening. My stomach lurched, though it was not from the copious amounts of alcohol I had consumed earlier.

My peripheral vision was growing hazy and I lost what strength I had gathered. I felt my legs give out as I sank down against the rough dry bark of the tree.

"You lost so easily?" A calm, feminine voice came from the direction of the cat. My eyes were getting heavier, but I managed to lift them up enough to see _her._

Her hand was stroking the cat as if it were a pet, the cat evidently recovered from its surprise, a low rumble was coming from it as its face nuzzled up to her. I could have puked if I had the strength.

She nearly glided as she approached, her steps smooth, subtle and light, not even the grass made a sound as she passed by. I felt icy fingers brush against my cheek, cooling the heat of my earlier exertion. "You disappoint me Qrow." Her glowing fiery black eyes felt as if they were seeing to the depth of my being. "You should not have fallen this easily."

"Tell that to your maniac who poisoned me."

"You were treated."

"It's like alcohol, the effects last." Damn, it was getting harder to speak.

"You were such a good spy for me," Her brows scrunched together momentarily, the lines the only furrows on her otherwise ageless and ghostly face. Thoughtful, she was always thoughtful, "If Tyrion wasn't so useful, I would have thrown him to my pets long ago for threatening you."

Blackness was beginning to creep around the edges of my sight, I hated that she was right. I hated that somehow, she always found out what I was up to, as if she had some sort of link to me.

"This won't do." Her hand suddenly twisted my face toward her own, the eyes were dancing with an inner fire again. "It's laughable you think you are fighting against me. You can't fight your own kind. Why don't you embrace it like your sister does or do you still think your transformations are because of a faunus bloodline?"

In that moment I did the only thing I could do, feebly reaching for my sword even though I knew it was too late, "Go to hell."

I saw her hand swing back, and suddenly stars came into my sight. I almost wish I had passed out as the cat breathed down my neck, sinking its teeth into my shirt and dragging me into the portal. Salem had opened it with merely a flick of her hand.

The familiar heat beat down on my already wounded body. The portal itself looked ominous enough, but the real kicker was the way it transported you. Portals were based on fire dust and while the heat was not enough to kill, if the body was already too weak to fend it off, it could become a flash of torture.

Her domain of blackened, broken earth met my eyes after pain shot through every part of me. Watts was there, waiting, moustache and all.

"Doctor, here's your newest patient. Fix him up as soon as possible." She strode forward and dismissed all of them with a wave of her overly dramatic wrist.

Watts' face had a sly grin on it, "With pleasure."

The shivers going through me this time weren't due to the pain. Salem had wanted me for years, I knew it, she knew it, but none of her followers seemed to know about it, except him.

And I had fallen right into their hands.


End file.
